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Is your third-generation iPad, which you've owned for seven months or fewer (because that's how long it's been on the market), now "obsolete?" The answer, it turns out, is yes, thanks to Apple's spec bump on Tuesday, which brought about the fourth generation of the device. With a new A6X processor, expanded LTE capabilities, and a new Lightning connector, the fourth-gen iPad is in and the third-gen is unequivocally out. Even the iPad 2 is still for sale through Apple as a discounted model, but not the version of the iPad that was just introduced earlier this year.
Does it upset you? For some, the answer to that question is "yes." When we buy new things, we like to think we're getting some life out of owning the latest and greatest—especially if it's a $500+ device. For some, it's about bragging rights, but for others, it's purely based on principle. People who like to buy Apple devices tend to view it as a deal with the devil—you get to enjoy the newest iPad for a while and Apple gets a considerable chunk of your money. Devices should come out on a predictable schedule within a reasonable timeline so that we're always either owning the current thing, or planning for it on the calendar.
Or should they? There are plenty of customers who don't mind buying a device whose moment in the spotlight is short-lived. Those of us who purchased third-generation iPads did so (presumably) because we liked the specs at the time and felt like it would be a worthwhile purchase. Was it only worthwhile seven (or fewer) months ago but not today? If it continues to work well for your needs, then what's the fuss?
Sure, some users might have bought their third-gen iPads just the other day, so their frustration may be justified. (And many of those people are able to exchange their purchases for fourth-gen versions.) But for the average, everyday iPad user, it may be hard to articulate exactly why such a tight update schedule feels so aggravating.
Which is why we turn to you, Ars readers. Are you frustrated with Apple's decision to release an entirely new generation of iPads so soon after the last? Or do you take a more zen approach, seeing new iPad introductions as irrelevant to your past purchasing decisions that you're still perfectly happy with? And most importantly: why do you feel this way? Tell us in the comments how you view this latest update to the full-sized iPad line (iPad mini notwithstanding) and we'll round up the best reader comments in a follow-up post about how our community frames Apple's decision to upgrade the iPad now, instead of later.


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Ayad Akhtar's 'Disgraced' to jump to Broadway
NEW YORK (AP) — Ayad Akhtar's "Disgraced," a Pulitzer Prize-winning play about a successful Pakistani-American lawyer whose dinner party spins out of control amid a heated discussion of identity and religion, is coming to Broadway.
"Disgraced" had its world premiere at Chicago's American Theater Company in 2012 and then ran at Lincoln Center Theater's Claire Tow Theater, starring Aasif Mandvi, a correspondent on "The Daily Show."
This time the cast will be led by Hari Dhillon, who played the lead in London, and Gretchen Mol, whose film credits include "Rounders." It begins previews Sept. 27 and opens Oct. 23 at the Lyceum Theatre. Kimberly Senior, who directed the two previous productions, will direct on Broadway.
Akhtar also wrote the novel "American Dervish."

subset: commoncrawl


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A man named Alpha Lorenzo Walker and his conspirator Tamara Eileen Diaz were arrested earlier this month for trying to extort Stevie Wonder and were the subject of myriad tired late-night show monologue jokes for fucking up what you'd imagine for obvious offensive-punchline-type reasons would literally be the easiest thing in the world.
Ana Gasteyer Satirizes the Girl Boss in 'American Auto'
But the plot thickened last night when reports surfaced that Walker was blackmailing Wonder with the wackadoo tale that Walker, Wonder's nephew, was the product of a sexual encounter with Wonder and his sister. He originally demanded $5 million from the singer, then lowered it to $10,000, and was nabbed by undercover cops who were posing as Wonder's guys to orchestrate the handover. [Bossip]
- He can go get a celebratory drink with John Travolta, whose first masseuse accuser (the one who yesterday acknowledged that he had cited the incorrect date) dropped the case. [Radar]
- Here is a cute interview that Ashanti's mom did with Ashanti for
Ashanti DayMother's Day. [AOL Music]
- Cissy Houston, Whitney's mother, insists that the upcoming family reality show might kickstart Bobbi Kristina's singing career. [TMZ]
- Pamela Anderson rescued a dog from the slums of Mumbai and gave it a safe home between her breasts and it didn't even have to use its hard-knock life experience to win a national television quiz program. [Minute 15]
- "I really want to [play someone] dark, like a serial killer," chirped Matthew Morrison, and frolicked away on a ray of Tang-flavored sunshine. [Contact Music]
- Melissa Joan Hart is keeping the sex of her baby a secret from her husband, which is incidentally listed on Google Reader as "Melissa Joan Hart Baby Sex Secret" and just made me choke on my coffee. [Contact Music]
- Pete Doherty sold a painting that he and Amy Winehouse made with their own blood for $45,000. [E! Online]
- Zooey Vegan Twinkie Glitterbangs Deschanel will play Loretta Lynn in the Broadway adaptation of Coal Miner's Daughter. [Vulture]
- Beyoncé and Jay-Z are moving to London. [The Sun]
- Halle Berry is moving to France. [Bossip]
- Sacha Baron Cohen said something rude about Kim Kardashian's underpants. [Celebuzz]
- A high-school student interviewed Octomom Nadya Suleman for National History Day. [LAist]
- Sean Penn and model Petra Nemcova might be dating again because they attended Bono's birthday together, which is how you consummate a union on their planet. [NY Post]
- Anna Kendrick accidentally cut her fingernail off while filming a cooking scene opposite Chace Crawford in What To Expect When You're Expecting. [Express]
- That '70s Show star Lisa Robin Kelly was arrested for beating up her male roommate but won't face any more jail time. [TMZ]
- Errybody in the house who wanted Mayim Bialik and Alyssa Milano's unsolicited opinions on the Time breast-feeding cover say "Yeah!". OK, nobody? [People]
- "But seriously, fuck Teri Hatcher," says Desperate Housewives co-star Eva Longoria more or less. [Daily Mail]
- Three of the four singers on The Voice U.K. judge Will.i.am's team are sick and can't stop puking long enough to perform, thus confirming that The Voice U.K. is basically a modern Canterbury Tales with mediocre Lady Antebellum covers instead of chapters. [Express]
- Coolio was pulled over in Vegas for yet another mundane traffic violation because Stars Are Just Like Us. [TMZ]